Chapter 12
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The walk to his room was quiet, but not uncomfortable. They held hands as they walked closely beside each other, both smiling contently.
When they got to his room, Jack gave Chloe a quick hug before taking off to the shower.
"I'll be out in a few, alright?" he yelled, turning on the water.
"Sure..." Chloe answered, not sure if he heard her anyway.
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While she waited, she looked around the room, not that she really expected to find much, it was a hotel room and one that he hadn't been inside of much.
As she looked, she wandered into the bedroom, looking at the stuff he had on the table by the bed.
He had a picture of the two of them, taken around the time she started at CTU. It was a nice picture though, who ever took it caught them at a non-awkward moment where they both looked relaxed.
She smiled lightly as she looked into his eyes in the picture, wondering what he was thinking...
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Just then, as she continued looking at the picture, she heard the door open and jumped back as a near-naked Jack stood in the doorway of the bathroom, in only a towel.
"Um, that was quick..." she said, looking to the ground, blushing slightly.
He looked himself over to make sure he was covered before smiling "Yeah... I got used to short showers, I guess" he shrugged "Russians aren't as patient as you." he laughed.
"Guess not..." she said, "I'll just leave you to get dressed." she said as she walked toward the door.
He smiled "I'll be out in a sec, Chlo'." he said as she left the room.
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He walked over to the bed, where his suitcase sat and looked over at the picture she was stairing at and smiled as he grabbed out a shirt and some pants.
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He came out of the bedroom with the towel around his neck, and threw it into a garbage bag that held most of his dirty laundry.
He brushed his hair back with his fingers and walked into the living room, where Chloe sat, looking up at him.
He stretrched his arms and fell back onto the couch effortlessly, beside Chloe.
She gave him a weird look "Feeling better?" she asked, taking in his presence.
"Not really, no." he answered honestly, smiling.
"Than what's that smile for, Bauer?" she asked, sarcastically.
"Just happy you're here." He said, leaning further back.
She rolled her eyes "Since when are you the mushy one?" she asked playfully.
"Since my head hurts...and is probably just as mushy as I'm being right now." he laughed.
"You'll recover." she said, rolling her eyes again.
He smiled with a sigh "Always do, don't I?"
She nodded "You are too damn stubborn to let a hangover kill you." she joked.
"Feels like more than a hangover to me." he groaned.
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She rolled her eyes and was about to reply when she remembered Jake.
"Chloe?" Jack asked after she froze.
"Shit. Jake is done school at 12" she said, flicking her phone open to see the time "11:45. shit"
Jack sat up and looked down "Don't worry about me, go get him and I'll see you tomorrow." he said, getting up to retreve her jacket.
"No." she said, rather abruptly.
He looked at her for a second, trying to read her.
"I mean, I don't have to go. I told the babysitter I needed her to look after him tonight."
"oh." he said, simply.
"Well, I do have to go...for a second anyway. She wont pick him up, that's all. She's kind of a bitch."
Jack nodded, trying not to laugh at her rambelings. "Kim." he replied, interrupting her, mid thought.
"Kim?"
He smiled "Kim. I can call her and see if she'll get him."
"But what the sitter?"
"Well, Kim can drop him off there, if that'd be better. I'm sure she'll do it."
"Yeah?" she said nervously.
"Yeah. I can give her a call right now..."
She smiled and nodded as he dialed her number.
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"Dad?" she answered
"Yeah, honey. It's me."
"Is everything alright, you don't sound too good." she asked, noting the strain in his voice.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Rough night... anyway, Chloe and I are at the hotel... talking, and I was wondering if you would mind picking up Jake for Chloe?" he asked
She smiled "Yeah, sure. He's done at 12, right?"
"Yeah. You don't have to watch him though, Chloe said the sitter just wont pick him up or something... so you can just drop him off or whatever."
She laughed "Relax dad, it's fine. I'll take him out for ice cream or something before I drop him off, if that's alright. I kinda promised him last time I saw him."
"Ice cream?" he asked, more for Chloe's benifit than hers. Seeing Chloe nod and roll her eyes, he continued his sentence "That's fine, I'll talk to you later, sweetheart."
"Dad?" she asked, keeping him on the line. He didn't answer, expecting her to follow "I'm glad you and Chloe are talking some more." she said "Bye now." she added, quickly hanging up the phone.
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Jack laughed a little before going back to the couch, finding his place. "what were we talking about?" he asked, the topic having slipped his mind.
"Um, I think you were whining about having a headache." she laughed.
"Oh yeah... kiss it better?" he asked, jokingly.
She reached over and kissed his forehead "All better?" she laughed.
"Almost." he said and leaned over and began kissing her, without a second thought.
She slowly moved over without breaking contact, allowing him to get closer as the kiss grew deeper and longer.
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He pulled away, against both his and Chloe's dismay.
He sat up straight "I'm sorry" he said, rubbing his neck and looking down.
She at up beside him and put her hand on his back, the other taking his hand. "Don't be."
He looked up to question her, but she beat him to it "I love you, Jack..." she said, looking into his eyes "I mean, I understand...if you aren't ready. I just don't want you to feel sorry for that or anything." she added, feeling the pain shift in his eyes.
"I-" he started before he could think of what he wanted to say.
"Jack, it's alright. We don't have to talk about it right now." she said, blushing a bit.
He moved his hand over to hers and looked back at her "I want to talk about it, I don't want to fuck things up, Chlo."
"Jack" she started
"Chloe. I love you. You mean the world to me, you and Jake. I just don't know if...I, I haven't... been with anyone since I left. I just don't want to rush things because of it." he confessed, feeling his cheeks burning up as he spoke.
"You haven't?" she asked in surprise.
He looked up at her feeling his stomach twirl.
"I mean, I haven't either but I had a baby and people, friends...I mean, I'm glad...I guess. It's just... wow really?" she stopped herself when she noticed her rambeling again.
He nodded "Not that I couldn't have, I mean, it just didn't feel right. Not that I had much time to worry about my sexlife while I was there..." he shrugged "I just want to... make sure it's okay, that we're okay..." he said, kind of awkwardly.
She put her arm around him and pulled him into a hug "I don't want you to do anything you aren't comfortable with, Jack." she gave him a reassuring smile.
"I'm sorry and I know I don't have to appoligise for anything, but... it's a lot." he sighed.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Jake sooner."
"I'm just glad I know about him now, chloe. It's not like you really could have, realistically." he smiled "I still can't believe I have a son." he added, leaning back onto the couch and motioning for her to lay back with him, to which she obliged.
"Yeah. You should have seen me when I found out... I think everyone in medical, or even CTU for that matter is going to hell just for hearing me." she laughed "I kinda freaked out at first... and for a while after 'cause I didn't think I could do it." she said, looking into his eyes. "I couldn't be happier now though." she smiled at him.
"I'm glad." he smiled "I'm kind of tired, do you want to watch a movie for now?" he asked, putting his arm around her.
Chloe relaxed into his side after nodding. She snatched the clicker from his hand with a big smile. "but I'm picking."
A/N:
I wasn't sure where to end it, I could have gone on, but I have an idea in the works for the next chapter, so I had to end it somewhere.
Anyway, hope you like it and keep reading.
-Mae